Summary
- clinicians delivering culturally centred kidney care to residents.
- people starting dialysis had more than halved since the start of the CYKC service in 2020.
A Weipa-based team of clinicians delivering culturally centred kidney care to residents in six communities of the Westen Cape region is having a dramatic effect on progression of serious kidney disease and dialysis in the region.
Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service (TCHHS) Dr Natalie Pink presented findings of the remarkable results of the Cape York Kidney Care team during the Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service Research Symposium on Friday.
The study found the number of people commencing dialysis in the western Cape had more than halved since the start of the CYKC service in 2020.
The CYKC team is made up of a rural generalist doctor, renal nurse practitioner, dietitian and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health worker and currently sees around 400 patients across six communities – Aurukun, Pormpuraaw, Kowanyama, Napranum, Weipa and Mapoon.
They are also supported remotely be a tertiary-based Nephrologist, Dr Janelle Prunster.
Dr Pink, who is a proud Nyikina (Aboriginal) woman, said it was their unique transdisciplinary model, focusing on cultural safety and relationship building through clinical yarning, which was a key driver to their success.
“This service has been built on engagement with community members and key stakeholders about ways of delivering this service, so we have really good engagement and outcomes,” she said.
“We try and create a safe space where we can sit and yarn with the patient, talk about their life stories which gives comfort to open up about their health journey.
“It is often about us learning from their life experience, culture and knowledge of traditional ways of knowing and doing, rather than the other way around.”
The study found that between 2016 and 2019 almost 40 people in the region had to commence dialysis, compared to just 18 who had begun since the CYKC program began.
Dr Pink said they had been able to engage with patients who were on a downward trajectory with their kidney function and stabilise their condition.
The team travels to each community regularly throughout the year and Dr Pink is hopeful this program will expand to other regions of the Cape in the future.
TCHHS Executive Director Medical Services Dr Marlow Coates said the program had been incredibly successful since its inception.
“As a Health Service we are focused on closing the gap and programs such as Cape York Kidney Care are a key way we can achieve this,” he said.
“The way this team has partnered with their communities to develop a culturally safe model which increases community engagement is fundamental in our region.”